A rare experience right in Ellicottville

Written for The Villager

Way up on Bryant Hill, past Holiday Valley Tubing, you may find yourself stumbling upon a farm, but be guaranteed this is not your usual farm but a horse farm.

Point Break Farm breeds, trains and holds lessons on Friesian horses.

“Friesians are a rare breed of horse,” owner Lisa Williams wrote in an e-mail. “They are known for their fairytale appearance.  Their personality is very sweet and willing.”

Williams and her husband both own the farm, but she is more involved.

“I just grew up horse crazy and it (the farm) was just my dream,” Williams said.

Williams has been breeding Friesians for ten years and training them since 2004. To become certified, Williams trained under Kenny Harlem, a well-known trainer in the horse world.

“In 1995 there were only about 2,000 Friesians around the world and now there are about 40,000,” Williams said.

Friesians originated in Holland, and are known for their jet-black appearance and long mane.

“These are the kinds of horses the knights used … these horses are a wonderful thing for people to experience old time romances of the horse world,” Williams said.

The farm has been running since 2006, but did not open to the public until 2007, and just this past year Point Break Farm began offering dressage riding lessons.

“Dressage lessons are the classical foundation of horseback riding that most people start out learning,” Williams said.

Lessons are given by Claudia Kramer-Foster and are $40 per hour.

Currently Williams has 15 Friesians that she has trained and then showed at Federation Equestre Internationale events.

To keep the integrity of the breed, every year each new Friesian must be inspected against breed quality to be officially declared a part of the breed. The inspector is an expert on the Friesian breed and flies in from Holland to Ohio to do the judging.

Last year, Point Break Farm became nationally awarded as the best timber-framed equine facility in the region and third across the nation.

Williams goal with Point Break Farm is as noble as the horses she breeds.

“My goal is to be noted for the quality of the Friesians we breed and keep the integrity of the breed alive through good breeding and quality of training.”

She also urges people to become more involved with these horses because Friesians are so rare and are sitting in Ellicottville’s backyard waiting to be seen by all.

   To find out more information about Point Break Farm or schedule a lesson, call 716-353-1794.